Great Kid Friendly Places to Visit in Nashville

One of my friends was going to Nashville with her friends and asked if I could give some recommendations.

Having gone to Nashville a few times with our kiddos, boy oh boy could I make some recommendations!

I was able to quickly make her a list of fun places to go and thought I would share it with you.

These are fun places to check out and offer things to see, things to do with littles. for the most part they are free or relatively inexpensive. We also have only ever gone for a few days at a time so we never are involved in anything heavy or time consuming.

Here are some of our recommendations:

Five Daughters Bakery

These donuts are like anything we’ve ever had before and they are so scrumptious! A mix of a donut and a croissant, these cronuts are divine. Some of them though are about $6 and they are huge so if you have kids I highly recommend making them share. It is hard for an adult to finish one, they are so rich and filling, so to save money our family gets a couple to share and then some of their really good coffee to enjoy them with.

The only location we’ve ever been to is the one by Draper James. It has a great outdoor eating area and a little playground which is adorable! It’s a nice place to take a break and get some fresh air.

Draper James

This is Reese Witherspoon’s store in case you didn’t know!  Super cute, super girly, and super southern, you’ll be greated with the cutest little cups of sweet tea in their signature cups with their own little straws.  There’s a super cute wall outside to get your picture in front of and our kids loved the little drink treat while I shopped. 

Lifeway Christian Store

Housed in the ground floor of the bookstore’s headquarters, this store was so nice to browse through.  We were pleasantly surprised to find lots of hard to find items, tons of steals, and activities to do in the back of the store while parents shop.  Be sure to use the space age type bathrooms and don’t miss the stained glass on the way!

Antiques Archaeology

We have been to this store twice and amazingly it is never as busy as I always thought it to be.  While most of the “picked” items were way, WAY out of our price range, it was fun to purchase shirts, coffee cups, and the iconic bumper sticker that was on our flex when we sold it  (every mother wants their daughter to pick them out a bumper sticker that says “Junk in the Trunk” and have no idea why this is not appropriate, right, lol).  Also, if you watch the show at any type of frequency you are sure to see items in the shop that were found on a show you’ve watched. 

*Side note, be sure to go IN the building that houses the store. An old factory, it houses loads of old machinery that our kids love tinkering with, turning the knobs, pushing the buttons, basically being able to mess with. This type of hands on history is our fave! There are also several other shops to check out,

Gaylord Retreat Center

Waterfalls, photo opportunities, flowers, foliage, multi levels with walking paths to wander around and explore…the Gaylord Convention and Retreat Center is something you have to see to believe. With multiple atriums to explore full of shopping and restaurants (they even have indoor boat rides, seriously, huge!) this is something that will be fun for your family to explore even if you aren’t staying there.

Tip, parking can become salty (I can’t remember for sure but I believe parking was by the amount of time you were there). I recently read on Trip Advisor that you can park in the Opry Mills parking lot and there is a nice walking path that takes you to Gaylord so you don’t have to pay for parking. Just an idea if you are trying to save some money.

Aquarium restaurant

Okay this is one of those T Rex, Rainforest type restaurants where the food is terrible but really you’re paying for the experience to sit next to a massive aquarium and eat. If you have kids who love fish and sharks then this is perfect for you. If you want to save money, find a free appetizer rack card at basically any hotel in the area. The nachos were massive so I got the nacho appetizer as my entree which at least saved us some money. Nick and I have even shared the nachos as our meal before and just paid for the kids meals. Win, win!

Grand Ole Opry

So the weirdest thing to me is that the Grand Ole Opry is now right across from a mall but it’s the mall with the Aquarium restaurant, Opry Mills. Even if you don’t take in a show it is a cool place to visit and they have a really comprehensive gift shop. It’s nice to snap photos and say you’ve been there. At any given time there could be singers, performers, and various types (country and western) of dance troups and shows in the courtyard of the Opry.

Nashville Zoo

I sometimes say this to you about certain attractions so here it goes…we have been to a boat load of zoos. The National Zoo, the iconic Fort Wayne Childrens Zoo, the Chicago zoos, zoos on the east coast, zoos out west…there have been a lot of zoo experiences.

All that to say, the Nashville zoo is the second best zoo we’ve ever been to, second only to the Indianapolis Zoo but they have the huge Dolphin show so there’s that. The Nashville Zoo houses the most amazing playground. Appropriately named “Jungle Gym” ha! It is a massive structure with so much to do. We enjoyed that there was something to do there aside from look at animals as it really helped to break up the day and gave the kids something to do on their own.

There are extra things you can pay for…we let the kids go on the Eagle Zip Line and it was so much fun! The kids were scared at first but then they were excited to go on it and then really happy they had the chance to go. It is a massive zip line experience and it is a fun ride down.

If you have a reciprocal membership from another AZA zoo then this zoo is half off for you, friend!

Adventure Science Center

This Science Center was a lot of fun. Our kids enjoyed the space exhibit the most, with their anti gravity experience, Test Bed. I really, really appreciate when the kids can experience things like this and it is included in the price of admission. On the flip side of the coin I hate when places nickel and dime you for every cotton picking thing they offer…it gets confusing and expensive. This place however did not do that and it was great.

Just a tip though, this place was a bit out of the way and was hard to find but be patient…if it seems like you are going the wrong way you are probably almost there, ha.

Other things there that the kids loved were the gigantic light bright exploring the physics of light, the indoor playground, Adventure Tower, that is multi-level structure and at the top has a Willy Wonka type experience where you can poke your head up and look over the whole city…very cool.

So there you have it, some fun things to do in the Nashville area. I know that most people think Country Music right off the bat when they think of Nashville but if you’ll notice, hardly any of my recommendations had to do with music. It is a bustling, fun city that is up and coming.

If you are interested in country music you can find a lot of hotspots on Broadway which is fondly called “Honky Tonk Row”. We’ve driven through the area but each time we decided there were too many people to get out and walk around so we just drove through. If you are going with kids just be forewarned that this is a huge party area…think bachelorette parties and large groups of people. Everyone seemed to be pretty chill and it didn’t smell of urine like Beale Street in Memphis but still, it can get crazy. I’ve included the picture below for you to catch a glimpse of the people.

Oh and really quick, 2 more places! Brentwood is a cool area south of Nashville and Biscuit Love is an amazing place to grab a bite to eat! Be sure to check those out too!

Do you have any suggestions of other places to visit? Or any questions I can help you with? Make sure to comment below! Happy Traveling!

Smoky Mountain Fun: Our Dollywood Review

Dollywood has always been one of those pie in the sky destinations for our family. This fall our family spent a few nights in the Pigeon Forge area and while we were there we had the opportunity to visit Dollywood. Having visited the area a few times before we, of course, had seen Dollywood advertised everywhere! Since the kids are getting older (funny how that happens!) and have been begging to ride roller coasters we were excited to try it out with our preteen kiddos and decided this would be the perfect trip to visit the amusement park.

We are so glad we did! Y’all if you have never been to Dollywood you are definitely missing out. I can say that we had no idea what all there was going to be to see and experience. Our kiddos were 10 and 12 when we visited and they had so much fun in the park. Truly a place made for family with fun and faith interwoven, it is a haven where you don’t have to worry about inappropriate displays or if attractions will be too scary.

We arrived pretty much first thing when they opened. I enjoyed that they do not open at dawn’s early light because this momma always feels very bad if we don’t cram in as much as earthly possible. I mean, we’re paying for it so we’ve got to get our money’s worth, right? So I am right on track with Dolly’s thinking that we all need our beauty sleep so we should all go a bit later. They opened at 10 am and it was a perfect time to set out on our day’s adventure!

The main street is very disney-esque but the thing I loved is that you didn’t get the feeling that they were trying to be Disney. We’ve been to plenty of other places that are trying to be something they are not but this was not the case at Dollywood. They are their own attraction and they own their own unique identity and flavor. The main street was a great place for our family to get out sea-legs so to speak. We could tell when we walked in that Calvin was very overwhelmed by everything there was to do so it was nice to have a bit of a stroll before we jumped right into activities.

We walked down main street and found ourselves in the Craftsman’s Valley area, an adorable area with shops and craftsman galore. We loved looking through the glassworks store before deciding that we were ready for our first ride. We sat down as a family and became acclimated with the park through the map. They also have a very immersive app that Nick and I each downloaded onto our phones. Sometimes it was handier to look at the paper map and other times it was nice to refer to the app…I would say you should definitely use both when you are there. Also, one of my homeschooling mom tricks is I make my kids use maps. Things like directions, map keys, distance…so many things are understood and learned through maps and in these days a lot of kids are not learning how to use maps. It’s fun for them to practice using the map and being in charge of helping the family find our destination. *Okay I’ll step off my little cartography soap box now, but we just love maps!

Once we walked to the ride Calvin got scared but Nick and Emma had a blast riding the Barnstormer. Calvin and I remarked how it was almost as much fun watching the rides as it was riding the ride. Maybe not. but it was fun to watch!

I will spare you the joy of reading every.single.blessed.thing we did as you would be here until doomsday reading everything we did. Suffice it to say…we had an amazing time! To break it down for you there were three categories of things we enjoyed: the sights, the food, and the rides!

The Sights

Dollywood is for everyone which I love! I remember my grandparents visiting when Dollywood first opened back in the ‘80s and I can understand why now. Tons of seating including droves of lovely rocking chairs to rest and relax in. Older people were there, families, young adults, seriously…everyone. I’m guessing one of the reasons so many retired folks love this place is because there is so much to do outside of amusement park rides.

To be truthful, on a Dolly Parton fan-level we were pretty much non existent fans upon arrival. Then we came across her museum, Chasing Rainbows, which tells The Dolly Parton Story. It was so amazing to see her actual momentos and treasures from her journey to success, to see her story unfold from where she started to where she is now. Such an amazing story of God’s provision. And now we are huge fans of hers. If you want to see all of her awards, her gowns, her shoes, her purses, her magazine covers, then be sure to go spend time in Chasing Rainbows.

Another one of our favorite things was the train! A coal powered train from Alaska that was used during WWII, the beast has been at Dollywood since it opened and is so iconic to the park. It was so much fun to ride and see all of the sights around the park. A must-do if you visit.

Other fun things included a drum garden to make music, and statuettes like this axe to try to get out of the ground. Calvin insists he got it to wiggle ;). There were animals to see, shows to attend, concerts to listen to, you name it.. So many things to do!

In the Craftsman’s Valley area they had so many hands on projects and shopping to do. Seeing as we visited in the fall there were lots of Christmas ornament options. There were woodworkers to watch, iron forgers to get lost in their process watching, and you could even blow your own glass. The kids went to the candlemaker and dipped their own candles.

The buildings are amazing to see too! So many building are designed to look like historic Smoky Mountain buildings…the chapel and the mill were some of our favorites.

Something super surprising to find in an amusement park…Towards the tip of the park you will find an incredible sight…the Nation’s largest Bald Eagle Sanctuary. We’ve seen eagles several times….we have a family of eagles that live outside of our lake cottage but this was absolutely awe inspiring. This National Parks caliber sanctuary gives you a chance to watch multiple eagles soaring in their own environment. You simply must check this out!

Another aspect of Dollywood I would like to add is that they always seem to have a fun theme or something going on, on top of the already amazing selection of attractions. While we were there the Harvest Festival was going on. Craftsman from around the country were all around to watch and there were Southern Gospel Singers, Country and Western Acts with concerts every few minutes. Even comedy and dance based musical shows. The extra sights were so much fun to take in and enjoy as we walked along.

The Food

You guys all have to try the cinnamon bread from the Grist Mill! I’m looking at you. That was the number one thing people told us whenever we would mention that we were planning on visiting Dollywood. And it is as good as everyone told us it would be. A sort of monkey bread loaf, this pull apart treat was enough to feed our family of 4 as a snack. I believe it was $7.99 so it was a bargain for a snack for all of us!

Beyond the cinnamon bread, all of the food we had was amazing. We didn’t do any of the sit down restaurants but we did sample quite a bit of food throughout the day. Fried Green Tomatoes, Jumbalaya, Funnel Cake, Ice cream…incredible. My favorite though were the fresh made pork rinds. People like them so much you can buy them by the bucket. A large bag was enough for our family to snack on through the day. You can see Nick in the photo beside eating the said pork rinds because we aren’t a proud people…we can post our eating photos.

The Rides

I am not a ride person. I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge ride person, but I do remember being young and experiencing the thrill of going on rides for the first time.

It was such a blast to be able to experience that with our kiddos and to see the looks on their faces when they got off of rides. For the most part they absolutely loved them!

Emma started off the excitement because after riding her first ride with Nick I talked about earlier, she was really wanting to go on more rides. Calvin however, still was not having any of it.

We all decided to go on an indoor ride and we all had a blast…it was fun and thrilling but not too scary.

After that Emma found a fire ride that she wanted to go on. This is the face of a girl who went on her first official roller coaster. She was so cute talking all about it and being flushed at how exciting it was! After seeing Emma’s excitement Cal started to warm up to the idea of going on a coaster but still wasn’t sure. Which is why having smaller rides is just perfect! They rode a smaller “tween ride” (as they called it) and had a blast together. I love when they have fun together.

Another ride they loved doing together was this lumber jack ride where they had to pull themselves up to the top and then the ride would lower them in unexpected intervals before they would repeat the process all over again. If your kids somehow have pent up energy to get out after walking miles and miles around the park then this is the ride you need for them!

If you have kiddos who are younger or do not like roller coasters, there is still so much to do! It’s basically an amusement park where the roller coasters are not the center of things to do.

Calvin’s very favorite area was the carnival area. There were lots of games and rides for younger children. We enjoyed the bumper cars collectively as a family. Be warned though that these are not bumper cars where you smash into people going every which way, there is a track and you have to go the way they tell you. I wish I had known that in advance as it was a little bit of a different idea for Calvin to understand, but after the first go round, he was a pro.

The kids loved the carousel! I love that our kids seek our carousel’s to ride wherever we go. It is always such a sweet memory and fun to pick a certain horse to ride on.

We feel so blessed that we had the chance to visit. The special needs accommodations they offered were so helpful for our family (I’ll be writing about that in another post). In short, Dollywood has taken the sanctity of our great nation and somehow combined that with thrills and fun for an idyllic theme park experience.

Our Wonder Collective’s Summary

Pros:

• There really is something for everyone. They don’t just say that…it’s true.

• There’s lots to do…you won’t be able to experience everything in one day. You won’t get bored.

• It’s a foodies dream. Seriously, so much food. Good food, for good people. Southern down home food with culinary twists thrown in.

• I don’t know how they do it but it is the best taken care of, cleanest, most peaceful place. It’s amazing.

• The best value is found with their multi-day tickets that cut the price of each day way down.

Cons:

• The ticket prices are very expensive. Once we were in and experienced it I felt that the cost of the ticket was justified and makes sense. But when you haven’t gone before it seems like a lot of money. Plus it is a lot of money to pay if you are taking your entire family.

• You cannot bring your own food into the park. You can leave the park and re-enter with your hand stamped but seriously, the place is huge and the parking lot is massive. If you plan on leaving make sure you are ready for a trek (even with the tram) to get to your car and get something to eat.

• Perhaps we are a bit directionally challenged but even my husband who has a degree in planning out cities admitted that the layout seemed a bit wonky. It took most of the day for us to get our bearings and feel that we knew where we were going.

Our Wonder Collective Suggestions:

• Drink water and lots of it. Iced water is free at all food vendors. Make sure you ask for lots. Lots and lots and lots.

• Wear comfortable shoes (of course!)

• Make a note of where you are parked. The parking lots (mulitple!) are massive and you’ll take a tram from the lot into the park .

• They have a service to have all of your purchases waiting for you at the front…use that service! It was so nice to not have to keep track of who has what bag and to make sure Sue Ellen (there’s no Sue Ellen) still has her bag and on and on. The less you have to carry the better, right? I will also say that keeping your receipts all together instead of shoving them into the depths of your purse makes retrieving your items a lot easier…not that I would ever do that but you know, just in case, don’t do that.

• If you are thinking of going make sure you get on their website and sign up for their email list. I did and I am not constantly alerted of deals they are having!

• When you get the cinnamon bread from the Grist Mill, just go ahead and get more than you need. You’ll want to take some home or to snack on later on in the day. The later in the day it gets, the longer the line becomes so go ahead and only wait once.

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Enjoy Dollywood! Comment below with your suggestions or questions. I’d be happy to help!

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Planning our Trip to Georgia

I shared before how I plan our family roadtrips in order to get the most out of them for the least amount of money.

I wanted to share with you now how I am planning our next trip to Georgia.

I chart our route and looked for larger cities that we will be passing through.

I see that we are going through Lexington, Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee. I have nothing relatable in my head about either one of those places (do you guys? Do I just live too sheltered of a life?) so I Pinterest them to see what there is to do.

It looks like in Lexington there are some horse race type parks to check out but nothing that is screaming “us” so I’m moving on. I will also point out Lexington is about 4 hours from our house. I want to make sure we cover some distance in the first day of our trip so Lexington is about the closest place I would be willing to go to. Otherwise we’ll have too much traveling to do the next day as we make our way to Georgia.

So the next place I’m going to look up is Knoxville.

There look to be some things but I am not sure if that is where I want to be for very long. We are after all driving through so we don’t have a lot of time to spend.

I now check out our memberships’ reciprocal programs. We have memberships through the ASTC and the AZA. I see that there is a zoo in Knoxville that looks promising but we still have to pay 50%. That’s a great deal, don’t get me wrong, but I just want to make sure that that is something we commit to do with our time. After all, a zoo takes a large chunk of time to go through.

I check out the National Parks website and, duh! I see that Knoxville is just a hop, skip and a jump a way from the Smoky Mountains National Park. BINGO!

I think we might go that way. We love hiking and exploring so going that route ensures lots of fresh air, exercise, and it’s darn near free.

In case you’ve never been to the Smoky Mountains, it is near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. This is a really neat area but a huge tourist area that makes it really hard to stay on budget. I am sure we will do some things there but we try to steer clear of this area. An example of the area is when we went mini golfing. We went to a scabby kind of place with flaking paint and it was $60 for the four of us. Seriously. That is why we try to plan carefully what we do in the area and we look for budet friendly items.

The Smoky Mountains park spans over 800 square acres over North Carolina and Tennessee. While it is technically one park there are several sections and areas of the park including Cades Cove, Cataloochee, Clingmans Dome, and more. While there are lots of things to do I think we are going to be focusing on the Cades Cove area.

Cades Cove offers some of the best opportunities to spot wildlife. When we’ve been through the Smokies before we have spotted deer, bears, elk, and coyotes. We like Cades Cove because of the settlement you can explore as well as the nature. We’ve never had a lot of time to explore the area though, so I think that will be a perfect option for us.

We are so excited for our trip and can’t wait to get to the mountains!!!

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I hope this kind of “me talking outloud to you helps you to see the madness behind my method for planning our trips. I can try to do this with another trip if it helps you! Let me know, friends!